This volume investigates the ways in which people in the early Middle Ages used the past: to legitimate the present, to understand current events, and as a source of identity. Each essay examines the mechanisms by which ideas about the past were subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) reshaped for present purposes. As well as written histories, also discussed are saints' lives, law codes, buildings, Biblical commentary, monastic foundations, canon law and oral traditions. This is the first book to investigate systematically this important topic.

This comprehensive textbook is the first to synthesise a quarter of a century of pathbreaking research in an accessible manner for undergraduate students. Matthew Innes is unique in combining an account of the historical background of the period with discussion of the social, economic, cultural and political structures of the socities within it. Individual chapters include discussion on: Why the Roman Empire broke down so irrevocably in western Europe; How it came to be replaced by radically different political systems, ruled by kings who saw themselves as leaders of ethnic communities; Whether these changes were the result of lock, stock and barrel migration of biologically defined peoples or more complex processes whereby new elites created ethnicity, legitimising their position through myths of common descent and shared history; Why the city-based state structure of antiquity was replaced by a system in which landowners used their private resourves to exercise public power; How and why the division between civilians and the military, so fundamental to the ancient state, broke down giving rise to a world of militarised landlord power; How the conversion of western Europe to Christianity and the establishment of the church as the central social institution related to these processes of change; What made western Europe's experience so distinctive in this period. studying late antique or early medieval history, it will also interest researchers and postgraduate students because it synthesises and interprets a great deal of otherwise unavailable primary research. Especially designed to be student-friendly, An Introduction to Early Medieval Western Europe contains: chapter summaries and chronologies; key topic essays discussing archaeological or documentary evidence; a lavish range or supporting illustrations from archaeological and historical finds; bibliographical essays which discuss available sources and secondary literature, introducing teachers and students to the specialist literature; a comprehensive glossary and index

'Matthew Innes' new survey fills a nagging void for teachers of early medieval history ...' - John McCulloh, Kansas State University. "Innes has done early medieval scholarship a great service. By surveying and synthesising recent research covering such a long period, his book will help others to connect the dots and draw conclusions of their own... This is a very important book... an excellent resource for teachers and students." - Warren C. Brown, English Historical Review Surveying the period of European history, 300-900 AD, this comprehensive and stimulating textbook is the first to present the last twenty-five years of research in an accessible manner for undergraduate students. It is unique in combining an account of the historical background of the period with discussion of the social, economic, cultural and political structures of the societies within it. Introduction to Early Medieval Western Europe, 300-900 includes: chapter summaries and chronologies key topic essays discussing archaeological or documentary evidence maps plus supporting illustrations from archaeological and historical finds bibliographical essays which discuss available sources and further reading, introducing teachers and students to specialist literature a comprehensive index. Key topics discussed are: why the Roman Empire broke down so irrevocably in Western Europe how it came to be replaced by radically different political systems why the city-based state structure of antiquity was replaced how and why the division between civilians and the military broke down the conversion of Western Europe to Christianity and the establishment of the church as the central social institution what made Western Europe's experience so distinctive in this period.

Many more documents survive from the early Middle Ages than from the Roman Empire. Although ecclesiastical archives may account for the dramatic increase in the number of surviving documents, this new investigation reveals the scale and spread of documentary culture beyond the Church. The contributors explore the nature of the surviving documentation without preconceptions to show that we cannot infer changing documentary practices from patterns of survival. Throughout Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages - from North Africa, Egypt, Italy, Francia and Spain to Anglo-Saxon England - people at all social levels, whether laity or clergy, landowners or tenants, farmers or royal functionaries, needed, used and kept documents. The story of documentary culture in the early medieval world emerges not as one of its capture by the Church, but rather of a response adopted by those who needed documents, as they reacted to a changing legal, social and institutional landscape.

At its height, the Carolingian empire spanned a million square kilometres of western Europe - from the English Channel to central Italy and northern Spain, and from the Atlantic to the fringes of modern Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. As the largest political unit for centuries, the empire dominated the region and left an enduring legacy for European culture. This comprehensive survey traces this great empire's history, from its origins around 700, with the rise to dominance of the Carolingian dynasty, through its expansion by ruthless military conquest and political manoeuvring in the eighth century, to the struggle to hold the empire together in the ninth. It places the complex political narrative in context, giving equal consideration to vital themes such as beliefs, peasant society, aristocratic culture and the economy. Accessibly written and authoritative, this book offers distinctive perspectives on a formative period in European history.

This book, first published in 2000, is a pioneering study of politics and society in the early Middle Ages. Whereas it is widely believed that the source materials for early medieval Europe are too sparse to allow sustained study of the workings of social and political relationships on the ground, this book focuses on a uniquely well-documented area to investigate the basis of power. Topics covered include the foundation of monasteries, their relationship with the laity, and their role as social centres; the significance of urbanism; the control of land, the development of property rights and the organization of states; community, kinship and lordship; justice and dispute settlement; the uses of the written word; violence and the feud; and the development of political structures from the Roman empire to the high Middle Ages.

This volume investigates the ways in which people in the early Middle Ages used the past: to legitimate the present, to understand current events, and as a source of identity. Each essay examines the mechanisms by which ideas about the past were subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) reshaped for present purposes. As well as written histories, also discussed are saints' lives, law codes, buildings, Biblical commentary, monastic foundations, canon law and oral traditions. This is the first book to investigate systematically this important topic.

This book shows just how much can be discovered about the so-called "Dark Ages," between the fall of Rome and the high Middle Ages. Whereas it is believed widely that the source materials for early medieval Europe are too sparse to allow sustained study of social and political relationships, State and Society in the Early Middle Ages offers a detailed analysis of the workings of society at the heart of Charlemagne's empire, and suggests the need to rethink our understanding of political power in this period.

At its height, the Carolingian empire spanned a million square kilometres of western Europe - from the English Channel to central Italy and northern Spain, and from the Atlantic to the fringes of modern Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. As the largest political unit for centuries, the empire dominated the region and left an enduring legacy for European culture. This comprehensive survey traces this great empire's history, from its origins around 700, with the rise to dominance of the Carolingian dynasty, through its expansion by ruthless military conquest and political manoeuvring in the eighth century, to the struggle to hold the empire together in the ninth. It places the complex political narrative in context, giving equal consideration to vital themes such as beliefs, peasant society, aristocratic culture and the economy. Accessibly written and authoritative, this book offers distinctive perspectives on a formative period in European history.